When it Rains
by SuzieQuaKes
Summary: He was a skater with a complicated home life and trouble everywhere he looked. She was just a girl trying to get her English assignment done. Who knew that one project would lead to anger, tears, love, heartbreak and drama . . . all under the rain. "Always expect the unexpected." -AU, CS/Contestshipping and other minor ships.
1. Open Book

Author's Note: Here you have it guys! A completely new story from me. It's a high school based one, but it's not going to be cliche—I promise. I just wanted to revive the CS fandom a little bit with a brand new story. Hope you guys will like it!)

* * *

**When . it . Rains **

_(c) SuzieQuakes, 2012_

* * *

_"You made yourself a bed at the bottom of the blackest hole. And you'll sleep till May and you'll say that you don't wanna see the sun anymore."_**  
**

* * *

one.

* * *

There are some things that people never expect to happen in their lives. As the saying goes, "Expect the unexpected". To everybody around me, the words 'normal', 'average' and 'nothing out of the ordinary' would come to their minds when asked to describe me. And that was exactly what I was. I was a normal girl with normal friends. I grew up in a small town, I went to my local high school and I wasn't the most popular girl nor was I a loner. I was placed amongst the latter half of the social hierarchy and I frankly didn't care.

I went to school, I had fun with my friends, I got average grades and I tried to get by through each and every passing day without running into any trouble. All in all, I was your average girl-next-door.

I had grown up reading fairytales. My mother came into my room every night when I was little, the thick pink book grasped in her hands and told me tales about princesses in towers, frogs that turned into the most handsome princes, roaring dragons that roamed the thick nights, and the most beautiful palaces and castles that the gold-hearted princesses would end up in. I listened to the stories repeatedly with shining eyes and I believed in them.

I believed in the fairytale endings and I held the thought that no matter how hard life chose to afflict a person, no matter the hardships—if their heart is pure, they would get what the wanted in the end. And of course, _with_ the fairytales came the image of "Prince Charming" embedded in my mind. I had spent summer days, sprawled on my front porch, imagining how he would look like. He would have dazzling eyes and an amazing smile. He would protect me and be there for me and most importantly—he would love me.

And I vowed that until that sort of person came into my life, I wouldn't go out with just anybody.

Of course, I never had even _dreamed_ about falling in love with _him_. He was somebody that I would have never gave a second thought to if I passed him on the street. He was the prime example of a guy that didn't really fit into any of my criterions. If somebody had told me that I would have gone through _so _much for somebody like him and fall so hard, I would have laughed in their faces and labeled them insane. How was that even possible, right?

But I did fall.

And I fell hard.

* * *

"So, class!" Mrs. Hartford spun on her black stumpy heels to face us, her AP English class. It was sort of like her 'catchphrase' if it could be called one. She would exclaim the words and spin on those heels of hers almost every five minutes, even if she didn't have much to say. However, this time she did have an announcement for us. Her auburn bangs fell into her light green eyes as she glanced over each one of her students. "This is a project that will be adding forty percent to your average grades! And since all of you are in your Junior year, I am sure you are well aware that your grades count very much towards your college transcripts!"

I sighed to myself and buried my head beneath the arms of my black, long-sleeved shirt. I had heard that coming from teachers only about a billion times this past couple of weeks. It had only been two weeks since school had started and teachers were crazy on our backs, demanding for assignments, homework and projects with that constant threat that it counted towards our college transcripts. Honestly, how much more pressure could we take? I sighed again and played with the eraser tip of my pencil, very much uninterested.

"This is an author project! It goes without saying that authors are the voices of the books they write, they represent and symbolize their works and ideas in many ways!" She paused long enough to look at us again. I peeked my eye out through my sleeves to glance around at my class. Sure enough, there were people gazing out the window, doodling in their notebooks, staring blankly into the air, tapping their pencils against the metal tables—all totally bored.

"Each one of you will be working in pairs . . ." There was a little bit of life stirred back into us, as the students raised their heads a little at the sound of 'pairs'. I tilted my chin up out of my sleeves just a little bit, thinking of which friend I should work with, before Mrs. Hartford dropped the bomb. "That _I _have chosen for you . . ." She stressed the 'I' long enough so that the life that had just stirred up in all of us died down with a few mumbles and groans. "The pairs will be working on designing a poster that will cover _everything_ about the given author and their relationship to their works."

I raised my head out of my arms and sighed for a third time. I really wished that I wouldn't get paired up with somebody that I didn't know. My class was filled with people that I wouldn't like to work with because I didn't have a clue about their personalities.

"So class!" She spun on her heels once more towards her desk to grab a sheet of paper. "You will be paired up with people that you don't normally work with, as another point of the project is to improve your socializing skills."

I groaned a little. So there was the answers to my prayers. _Great_. I straightened myself up and blew on my chocolate brown side-fringe that fell over the side of my forehead. Looking around the room (so I could prepare myself for the worse), I was greeted by a smiling pair of eyes. I could feel myself groan again. Gary Oak. I had grown up with him, unfortunately. He used to live across the street and was a nice ki until he grew five inches taller and got himself a six-pack. After that, he was known throughout Petalburg High as _the_ player. He wanted to get into the pants of anything in a skirt—unfortunately I was not excluded from that list.

Everybody also told me that he had a _huge_ crush on m but that was probably only because he knew I was never going to fall for his charms and tricks and he could very well kiss his hopes of sleeping with every girl in school goodbye. I tried not to change our years long worth of friendship, I really did. But he was far too irritating and I couldn't help that he ruined it. I could tell that he was hoping to be paired up with me.

I sure didn't.

"So class!" Mrs. Hartford clapped her hands. "I think that's enough info on this project. Here are the pairs." She held that piece of paper in her hands and read off of it. "Gary Oak and Jennifer Reeds will be working on Ian McEwan." So that was something I didn't have to worry about anymore. I just wished that I would get someone goo Someone nice . . .

"Danielle Harlow and Marina Stevens will be working on Charles Dickens, Dustin Vashel and Brianna Lopez will be working on George Orwell . . ." Mrs. Hartford continued reading off the names without pausing. "Natalie Dane and Veronica Gates will be working on Jane Austen, May Maple and Drew Hayden will be working on Lurlene McDaniel . . ."

I quirked a brow. Drew Hayden? All right, so there goes my hopes of working with somebody that I knew. I had heard the name around in school, but I didn't have the chance to actually know him. I didn't think anybody really did, except for his 'clique'.

I looked around to find him, only to gasp at a pair of deep emerald eyes staring through me. He had matching chartreuse hair that fell over his right eye. Oh. So that was Drew Hayden. I knew who he was by face. He was a "skater" and part of that clique that idolized skating and nothing but. I was a little bit surprise to see him in the AP English class, with the image that he and his friends gave out like they were far too superior to care about classes and grades.

Looking at him, I started to remember more about him. Of course. He was the top skater at Petalburg High and was known for his 'bad-boy-hotness' or so that appeals to some girls. Apparently, he had turned down every single girl that got too close to him. So this was the guy that I was going to spend two weeks with, working on Lurlene McDaniel—the romance novelist.

_Just great._

Just after Mrs. Hartford had finished announcing the pairs and the author that they were going to work on, the bell rang. Everyone scrambled up, grabbing their books and rushing out of class. Some pairs, I saw, were already discussing about when they would meet up to work on this. I decided that since I desperately _needed _a good grade in English—I would have to work hard on this project, no matter what. Even if that meant chasing up my partner who probably wanted nothing to do with this.

I grabbed my books in a hurry, ran a finger through my straight dark hair that fell to my chest and then jogged to my partner, clad in a black spotted hoodie and jeans, as he started to walk towards the door. He was obviously playing with his phone, his fingers rapidly going across the buttons and I was just about to get to him when somebody got in my way.

"Aw! It was a shame that I couldn't work with you, May!"

I sighed and gritted my teeth as I kept my eyes on the retreating figure. God, I was going to lose him and I knew it. "Yeah, Gary." I said impatiently. Just my luck that Gary would harass me at this moment. "But I'm sure Jenny would be just fine to work with."

He grinned as he revealed his pearly white teeth. His spiky brunette-ash hair bobbed a little. "I'd have rather prefer you."

"Yeah, well, things don't work out the way we want them to." I told him and pushed him out of the way. If I didn't handle things my own way, I would never have the chance to catch up with Drew Hayden and at least talk to him about working together on our project. I definitely wanted a good grade and I wasn't too keen on doing all the work myself either. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and catch up with my partner."

Gary raised his brow before scoffing like I was some sort of an idiot. "_That_ dude? Oh May, are you that dense? He's a skater, you'd be lucky if this project is even the last thing on his mind at the moment. He doesn't care about some silly project. You'll have to do the whole thing by yourself." Then he grinned, as if this was some sort of good news. "Of course, I'll be there to help you."

I sighed and tried my hardest not to gag. "Sure, Gary. Whatever. I'll catch up with you later. See ya."

Before he could say another word, I stepped passed him and rushed out of the classroom. I really had to catch up with my partner. My eyes scanned the busy hallway, desperately looking for that sight of the black hoodie. Oh come o where'd you disappear off to?

"Hey May!"

I shook my head slowly as I turned away. He was nowhere to be seen. Awesome. My best friend, Dawn Berlitz met my gaze. She looked curiously at me with her big, cerulean blue eyes and bobbed her equally blue head. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" escaped my dry mouth. "Oh, were you the one that called out to me?"

Dawn gave me a look as she nodded. I must've looked like a total idiot, I realized. I was so caught up in finding Drew that I didn't even hear Dawn's cry. "Yeah, that was me. What's wrong? Who are you looking for?"

"Oh, uh, I was just looking for Dre Drew Hayden."

"Drew Hayden?" Dawn repeated as she arched her brow further. "Why in the world are you looking for _him_?"

"I was paired up with him to work on an English project." I explained to her as we both started to walk towards our next classes. I wasn't surprised that she was shocked at me looking for Drew. He and I didn't really have a chance of crossing paths, ever.

"Oh, you unlucky duck." Dawn said sympathetically before patting my hand. "You just had to be paired up with a person so heartless."

"What?" I questioned as I looked at her with a curious expression on my face. I really didn't know what she was talking about because I had never really known Drew at all. "Heartless?"

Dawn nodded, her side ponytail swinging up and down. "You don't know this?" She asked, as if I were the most outdated person in the universe. "He's known for rejecting every girl that ever tries to get close to him. The entire school knows that he's very complicated. His life is, actually. His dad walked out on the family, his sister, Angie—she used to go to our school—got really depressed about it and killed herself and his mom is actually on drug At least that's what I hear."

I blinked as I tried to take in what Dawn just told me. That was possibly one of the most dramatic and saddest life stories that I had ever heard. If that was actually true, he was actually such a deep person who had gone through so much and is still probably going through a lot. "How do you know these things?" I murmured and Dawn smiled.

"The whole school knows, May." She told me. "I don't know where you've been all along. Anyway, all _I_ have to say is good luck. I guess being paired up with Gary would be even better."

I looked down at my feet as we walked into the Biology classroom. I wondered what would happen . . .

* * *

Once school had ended, I made the decision to look for him again. I knew that he would probably be at the local skatepark with his friends so the moment the bell rang, I said my byes to my friends and rushed down the front steps of PHS. The skatepark was only a few blocks away from school anyway and I didn't have my car with me that day because Dawn had picked me up in the morning. I had told her to go on home without me so I would probably have to take a bus home. It was okay.

I didn't really know why I wanted to find him that much, I guess I was interested in _him_ actually. I didn't know what I was going to say once I got there or anything, but I just felt drawn to get to him.

I soon arrived at the skatepark in a few minutes and folding my arms across my chest, made my way inside as the wind played with my hair. It wasn't long before I spotted Drew. He was on a skateboard, whizzing across the slopes. He was shirtless, his green hair was flying across his face and I saw his crystal green eyes flash across. I couldn't stop looking as he flipped and whizzed and did his thing. This guy was seriously an amazing skater.

There was bunch of guys and a girl that were clutching their own skateboards and they hooted and laughed as he walked back towards them. They were his friends—part of his clique. He smirked at them as he inserted the tips of his left fingers into the pocket of his jeans. His other hand was clad with a black fingerless glove and his black Converse pinned the skateboard to the ground.

I guess I had finally found him and I couldn't just hide behind a tree. I took a deep breath as I started to walk towards him.

"Hi."

I suddenly felt everyone's eyes on me and Drew Hayden turned around slowly. His ice-cold eyes pierced through my blue ones. He looked me over and arched a brow, the same smirk playing on his lips.

"Um, I'm May Maple." I stuttered as I introduced myself. I didn't think I had ever felt any stupider than I did then, standing in front of people I didn't even know and introducing myself. My heart started to beat loudly in its cage and my lips ran dry. "I don't know if you remember or not, But I'm paired up with you to work on an English project."

The group sniggered a little and I felt even more stupid. I glanced at them with a blush gradually making its way towards my cheeks. His clique consisted of three guys and a skinny girl. The guys were all pretty good-looking. One had blond hair with black highlights that fell across his face, another was black-haired and the third one was a brunette with green highlights. The girl was red-haired. She was quite pretty, skinny and also had a skateboard.

I looked back at Drew. "Oh yeah?" He asked in a gruff voice as he got out a pack of cigarettes and lighted one up, clutching the little white stick between his pearly teeth. He inhaled deeply and then let out a puff of smoke, before smirking at me again. "And what can I do for ya?"

I coughed a little. I was a little bit allergic to cigarette smoke, but I didn't tell him that. Instead, I tried my best to clear my watery eyes and speak clearly. "Since I want to get a good grade for this . . ." I trailed off and took a deep breath. "I wanted to know when we can work on this together."

Drew snickered before taking another breath of his cigarette as if he was dying for the fumes that it released. "All right, I think we should get this clear, Mary He took another puff of cigarette. "I don't really give a crap about any English project."

"It's _May_." I began before shaking my head and knowing it was better not to correct him anyway. "Look, it's okay—you don't have to do much."

He finished his cigarette and threw it to the ground, crushing it with his converse. "I don't have time for this." He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "If it's gonna get you out of here, then fine. We can possibly _work _on this at my place, tomorrow after school."

"Really?" I asked, hopefully and he shot me a look. It was better not to ask twice. "Thanks!"

Thunder grumbled and the whole group groaned. The sky began to darken as clouds made their way to block the sun. A few drops of rain started to drizzle down. This wasn't really anything new in Petalburg. It rained so spontaneously all the time. Drew glanced up at the clouds and stomped his foot on his skateboard. "Damn it!" He exclaimed and looked angrily at me. "Thanks a lot."

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked, completely unaware of what was happening.

"It's going to rain and we can't skate when it rains." The girl spoke up and her sea-green eyes flashed. "You just wasted ten minutes of our time to skate."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry . . ." I murmured and adjusted my bag on my shoulder. I guess they already hated me anyway and I just had to make things better for myself by 'wasting' their time. "I better get going. I have to catch a bus."

Drew practically shooed me off and I bit my lip as I turned around and made my way out of the park. By the time I reached outside, it was pouring. Thunder cackled and lightning flashed across the sky. It was a regular old storm, all right. I was soaked through and through, but I sighed and continued walking up the hill. The nearest bus-stop was a block away. Just my luck.

I trudged along the sidewalk, pausing every now and then to play with the puddles. My red Converses were getting soaked and muddy and my entire outfit clung to my body in a wet heap. I heard a car honk and I turned around to face the same electric green eyes that I was talking to, a few minutes ago. He was inside a clunky white car and looked me over. I stepped out of my way to move before he could drive by and splash all that mud onto me, but he was too quick for that. He drove by in whir, making all the mud fly up and splatter onto my face, my clothes, my hair . . .

"Hey! That was so not cool!"

The car stopped for a moment. I could feel the hesitance before it whirled and came back in reverse towards me. I looked at it, angrily as I tried to get the chunks of dirt off of my face and my outfit. I was literally a mess with mud everywhere. The rain falling from the sky helped a little to wash the mud off me but I still felt the stickiness clinging to me. Drew's car stopped beside me again and he rolled his eyes as he pushed the window down.

"Get in."

"What?" Over the rain and thunder, I wasn't sure that I heard him well.

"I said, get in!" Drew raised his voice as he opened the passenger side door with a kick of his feet. I didn't know what to do. Deciding that it was better than walking an extra block just to get home, I got inside and slammed the door shut. Once inside, it was just me and him. I was dripping and soaked and I was sure that I was making a mess on his car cushions. He deserved it anyway, I told myself. He was the one that practically splattered me with mud. I brushed my wet hair from my face and turned to look at him. His hair was matted down a little and he had on his black hoodie again.

"Well you certainly look like a train wreck." Drew commented with a snicker and I rolled my eyes, not saying anything back to him. To be honest, I didn't have the energy to reply back. He ignored my silence. "Where do you live?"

"You're taking me home?" I didn't even know why this question came out of my mouth. Of course, he was taking me home. Why else would I be in his car?

Drew, of course, made sure that I knew the question I asked was a dumb one. He smirked and flicked his hair away from his face. "Duh? I wouldn't be asking some girl where she lived otherwise."

"Why are you being such a jerk?" I couldn't take it anymore. I turned to look towards him in a huff. "I did nothing to you!"

"You wasted ten minutes of my skating time."

"Then why are you taking me home, anyway?" I demanded, turning back towards the window. I knew that I should probably be thankful at the fact that he was, seeing as how it was raining cats and dogs out there. I was sure to have caught pneumonia or something before I reached the bus stop. "I can go home with the bus, thanks."

"God, _May—_is everything that freaking hard with you?" Drew asked back with the same kind of anger in his voice. "I am taking you home—do you even know how long it's been that I even took a random girl home like that? Just tell me where you live!"

I felt some of my anger drain away. Dawn's words came back into my head as I remembered that he was probably telling the truth about not having taken any girl home in a while now. Reluctantly I twisted my wet hair in my fingers and gave him my address. "One forty one, Cherry Avenue."

I heard Drew scoff from beside me as he turned his engine on with a roar. "I'm not surprised." He said before murmuring something afterwards. It sounded a little like he said, "The richies." I really wasn't sure if he said that or why he would even say that.

"What did you say?" I asked and he shook his head as he started the car and drove up the hill.

"I just know someone who lives there, that's all."

I nodded and thought no more of the subject. I looked outside the window as the sidewalk passed by in a shadowy blur. The rain was getting harder by the minute. It was so much faster to be in a car, driving along the streets of Petalburg, Hoenn. It sure beat walking, that was for sure, despite how old his car was and how there were various sounds coming from the engine. Before I knew it, we were in front of my house.

"Thanks a lot, Drew." I turned towards him and smiled softly, saying his name _to_ him for the first time. It sounded foreign against my lips. I guess even though he was a jerk, he still drove me home and I should be thankful for that. And I was. "I would've been soaked to the bone if it weren't for you."

He shrugged his shoulders, so eager to seem all nonchalant and 'whatever'. "I don't think anyone deserves to walk so far in the rain like this." He brushed back his green hair to the side with a smirk. "Even somebody like you." I was about to retort back when he continued speaking. "And. . . Well, there's another reason but that's just stupid."

I arched a brow. Another reason? "What is it?"

Drew bit his lower lip as he glanced out of the window. For the first time, he looked uncertain and unsure of himself. He looked like he was ripped away of his exterior haughty self. "You reminded me of my sister."

He said it so softly that I had to strain to catch his words over the rain. When I heard it, I couldn't help but feel so sorry for him. His sister—the one that Dawn had said had suicided. It really wasn't in my position to ask anything or say anything and so I just opened the car door softly. I swung my bag over my shoulder and stepped out into the rain. "Well bye . . ." I stepped onto the sidewalk and used my bag to cover my head although it was pointless. "And see you tomorrow?"

He nodded and started up the ignition to his car. He waited until I walked to the front porch of my house before starting to drive off the curb. I waved slightly as his car disappeared through the shadowy rain. I shivered a little as I walked up the porch steps and to the door of my house.

Things were starting to get interesting.

* * *

Author's Note: Review please!

_-Suzie x_


	2. How Do I Love Thee

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for your reviews, they were really nice to read and I'm glad that y'all liked the beginning :)

Sorry for not updating in forever! I got this chapter done a long time ago but I couldn't put it up due to internet difficulties :(

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**When . it . Rains**

_(c) SuzieQuakes, 2012_

* * *

_"When it rains, you always find an escape. Just running away, from all the ones who love you: from everything."_**  
**

* * *

two.

* * *

Surprisingly I found myself waking up early the next day. Light streamed through the blinds of my window, and I found myself getting excited. Sunlight. Rushing over to my window, I peeked out with anticipation. Sure enough, the clouds were high in the sky and the sun radiated warmly with a golden glow. It was going to be a good day—or at least I hoped. With a sudden jolt, it occurred to me that I was going to be going over to Drew's house in order to work on the project. My heart started to increase a little in tempo.

I honestly _did not_ know how that would turn out.

Quickly, I took a steaming hot shower in order to distract my mind from thinking of all the possible things that could go wrong. It was so intimidating to be around him and I realized that he scared me, just a little bit. There was something about his eyes that seemed to size you up, something about his haughtiness and his cold words that seemed to almost draw you in and at the same time, keep you at a distance. And going to his house . . . maybe even meeting his mom? The purpose of the shower didn't seem to help as nervous jitters occupied me anyway. Way to ruin a perfectly good, sunny day.

Before long, I was dressed—carefully for the "occasion" that was to take place after school—and ready to head out for another day of classes. Grabbing my bag, I darted down the stairs to the living room where my mom was seated on the couch, a bowl of fruit salad in her hands and watching old episodes of 'Lipstick Jungle'. My brother had already left for college a year ago so I was the only child around here for now. I figured that dad had already left to work—he always was headed out of the door earlier than I was.

"I'm going now, Mom!"

She turned her auburn head towards me and returned my smile. "Do you want some breakfast, May?"

I shook my head as I readjusted the strap of the yellow bag on my shoulder. "No, thanks. I don't want to be late." I cleared my throat slightly, knowing that I had to inform my mom that I wasn't going to be home straight after school. "Um, I'll be home in the evening because I have to go to someone's house to work on an English project." I studied her expression. I really hoped that she wouldn't ask me any further questions . . .

But it seemed that my mother had already turned her head back towards the television set and flicked her hand casually. "Sure honey. Just come home before dinner. Be careful driving!"

Thank Goodness for Brooke Shields, I found myself thinking in relief as the actress canoodled with her onscreen boyfriend on TV. I really didn't want to be playing twenty questions with mom where Drew Hayden was concerned. Grabbing my car keys from the hook, I stepped towards the door in relief. "Bye, Mom!"

She murmured something back in response. I smiled as I stepped out of my house and into the sun. The warm rays fell on my hair and I felt fresh somehow, despite the ordeal that was awaiting me when school ended. I found myself wondering if Drew Hayden even remembered that promise that he made me yesterday. It was going to be a hassle if I would have to follow him to the skate park again.

Thoughts filled my mind as I walked over to my silver convertible. Max's car was still parked in the garage. He used to complain about being carless in college, but now he was dealing quite well with the fact. Max was my brother and I guess he was somewhat of a nuisance but despite that, I missed him not being here to torture me. He still sends us a letter every Friday, most of the content bragging about his grades and whatnot. I guess that was the extra boost that my parents needed to push me into working my hardest to get into a good college like Max.

I rolled my eyes a little in frustration. College. I needed good grades in order to get into a good college and therefore, I needed a good grade in English. I repeated that to myself as I started the ignition of my car and pulled off the curb. That was why I was going to Drew's house this afternoon.

Not because of anything else.

* * *

The day passed by in a blur. My classes turned out to be boring and as usual, Gary bothered me to the extent that I found myself yelling at him every now and then. Dawn giggled at everything and my other friend Marina was in peacemaker mode, trying to prevent some bloodshed. All three of them knew about the fact that I was going to be going to Drew Hayden's house to work on the English project. I didn't mean for word to spread, but I should have known that Dawn would be the one to spill the beans.

Gary wouldn't stop warning me about him though. He was using all sorts of reasons to prevent me from going—ranging from the fact that Drew mostly likely did not care about the project at all to the fact that his life was a complicated jumble that I couldn't deal with. I had tried to tell him a thousand times that Drew was a _pretty _nice guy and that the only reason I was going over was because I wanted the grade. I didn't bother telling him about the fact that he drove me home the day before. He would probably burst or something

I realized later in the day that I was subconsciously looking for Drew in the corner of my eyes. I didn't have any classes with him, except for AP English but I did manage to catch glimpses of his emerald green hair together with his group of friends. At lunch, they were nowhere to be seen—probably nearby the bleachers, I guessed. That was where most skater kids go to smoke to not get into trouble with the principal. I wasn't about to go ahead and interfere—yesterday was enough humiliation for me. But I was intrigued nonetheless.

After the final bell rang, I gathered my books and rushed out of my Home Economics class. Quickly, I waved to Dawn and Marina as they stood in front of their lockers and headed out to find Drew. It wasn't until I was halfway down the hall that I realized that I didn't know where his locker was. Thankfully, I spotted one of his friends that I saw yesterday at the skate park. It was the red-haired girl.

"Hi." I breathed out as I approached her. She was standing at her locker, grabbing her backpack with her blue skateboard under one arm. I felt self-conscious as she turned and looked at me with a strange look; as if she didn't know just what I was doing, talking to her.

"Can I help you?"

I pushed back my brown hair and fidgeted with my hands slightly. Her sea-green eyes flashed, as she looked me over with distaste. "Um, yeah." I muttered, a little bit fazed. "I was just wondering where your friend is. I mean—Drew."

She brushed her short, croppy hair to the side and shrugged her small shoulders. She was dainty, I noted. Dainty, but with a certain edge. She readjusted the straps of her bag, still looking into my eyes. "Probably at the gates. Apparently he's not skating today."

"Thanks." I found myself smiling as relief flooded through my veins. I turned away from the girl and headed towards the direction of the entrance. Drew _was_ keeping his promise after all.

As I approached the front wire-meshed gates of Petalburg High School, my smile widened as I spotted him. Just as the girl had said—there he was. He leaned against the fence as kids poured out, their chatter noisily escalating through the warm air. His fingers were entwined through the belt-hoops of his black jeans as his face was bent down towards the ground. He had a bag slung over his chest.

My chest thudded a little as I ran up to him, my shoes padding against the gravel pavement. A lot of people were rushing out of the gates and I tried to keep my eyes on him, hoping that he wouldn't get lost with the crowd before I got to him. Thankfully, he stayed rooted to the spot.

"Hey!" I called out as I reached his side. "Hey Drew!" At the sound of his name, his head rose and he swept the hair out of his eyes with a flick of his hand. The penetrating orbs gazed at me, with a certain coldness embedded into it.

"Hi."

I managed a smile, breathless both from the run and from the intensity of his eyes. "I'm glad that you kept your word."

He rolled his eyes at me with a shrug. "Don't rub it in. I was already considering to make a dash to the skate park before you came along."

It was my turn to roll my eyes as I walked over to his side. "Oh, please. I'm sure that missing one day of skating wouldn't make you _die._"

He glowered at me, shooting me with another one of his looks. If looks could kill, I would be rotting in my grave by now. "_Two _days. We couldn't skate yesterday because of you either." Then he flicked his hair to the side once more. "Let's go before I change my mind."

I stopped myself from saying anything more to argue with him. I somehow knew that disagreeing with him would come to no good, and that he was looking forward to having an excuse to ditch me and bolt to the slopes. Boy, was this going to be fun. "I have my car, so why don't you just lead the way to your house with yours? I'll follow right behind."

Drew shrugged his shoulders, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a box of Marlboro Light. He snatched a cigarette from the box and nodded. "Sure. Just be sure to keep up. You look like the clumsy type that gets lost easily."

I pushed up my lip, taking offense at his remark. "What do you mean by _that_? I can follow a car perfectly, thank you very much!" I didn't bother to acknowledge the fact that he wasn't _completely_ wrong. I had been known to be somewhat of a klutz and getting lost was one of my specialties. But he was a _stranger _and an extremely annoying one at that, so I wasn't about to be confiding my areas of flaw.

"If you say so." A smirk came onto Drew's face as his eyes glittered a little in amusement, before the sparkle died down. Bitterness replaced it. "Just be warned though. It's nothing like the place _you_ live."

I brushed a strand of my hair away from my face as I studied his expression, left confused by his words. A bit of my anger died away. "Huh?" was all I could manage.

"All I'm saying is to not get your hopes up." Drew answered, before lighting up the cigarette and inhaling it. With that final word, he walked off to the direction of the parking lot. I decided that he was probably off to his car, so I went to mine too with confusion settling into my mind.

What was his problem? I thought to myself. He was always making such snide remarks about where I lived and my life conditions. I shook my head to rid the thoughts and slipping into the door of my Honda, I kept my eyes steady on Drew's white rundown and weather-washed car as it whirred out of the small parking space. As the car pulled out of the gates, I made sure I was close behind on his trail.

I especially made sure not to lose him through the afternoon traffic. It wouldn't be very good if I confirmed his earlier statement that I was the type to get lost. He drove at a faster speed than necessary but I managed to keep up. Before I knew it, he had stopped his car and I realized that we were deep into downtown Petalburg. It was one of those areas that I didn't come very often because it was filled with crime and druggies. I felt a sense of sympathy for Drew before I could help myself.

The alley where he parked his car was dark and damp. The moss-covered walls were full of graffiti and a bunch of tattered cats were digging into the garbage cans that were lined up against the wall, partly hidden in the darkness. A six-story building stood at the side, the emergency fire escape ladders clattering as a rat scurried down.

Silently, I turned off the engine of my car and stepped outside. Drew stood in front of the metal fire escape stairs of the building. "Might wanna lock the doors to that." He advised, motioning his hand to my car. "Don't want your pretty little car to get stolen."

I was too shocked to say anything back in particular. Nodding dumbly, I clicked a button on my car keys. A small 'beep' rang out and the locks snapped assuredly. I turned back towards Drew and saw that he was already climbing up the squeaky metallic stairs. I darted right behind him, carefully holding onto the rusty rail as I pulled myself up. It seemed to clatter and groan under my every step, as if in pain.

I guess Drew was right, I noted to myself. The place really was different to my neighborhood where the worse possible crime would be that if you left the doors and windows to your car completely opened, somebody would come and close them for you. It wasn't an excuse to be so bitter about my home or my car though . . .

Suddenly I bumped into something hard and plunged back into reality. I stumbled a little, grabbing onto the railing with extra force that I felt the rust chip into my hand. A low moan escaped my lips as I opened my eyes to see that I had bumped into Drew. He looked over his shoulder, his emerald eyes fierce with a glare. I took a step back, almost scared that I had done the wrong thing.

"Sorry." I murmured as I fixed my gaze to my shoes. I hadn't been so close to him before and I noticed that he did smell good. He smelt a little of cologne tinged with a scent of roses and cigarette smoke. It puzzled me that someone as cold and bitter as Drew would have such a floral scent but I pushed the thoughts out of my head. I looked up to see why he had stopped and saw that he was digging out keys from the pocket of his jeans.

A door faced us and I began to feel nervous as I realized that this must have been his house. It was in the third floor of the building. Drew suddenly inserted the key into the hole and with a click, the wooden door opened.

"We're here."

I nodded and followed him inside the dark room. Obviously as we had climbed up from the fire exit, it wasn't the front door of his house but I figured that it led to his room. The smell gave it away—it smelt exactly like him: musk, roses and cigarette. Drew shuffled past me, as I was still gazing, wide-eyed. He clicked open a light and a dim brightness surged through the small, tight room. I observed my surroundings, not being able to say a word. The faint whitewashed paint on the walls was peeling and there was a small, unmade bed in the corner of the room. Clothes were everywhere, shirts and pants scattered across the room. A tall, slightly cracked mirror stood in the center of the room and posters of rock bands filled the walls.

Drew's room. It was almost weird for me to be in his room, his 'sanctuary' before I even knew him well. I wondered if he had even allowed a stranger like me inside his house like that in a long time. For some reason, it made me feel special. The fact that I was just over for a project left my mind.

The clearing of a throat interrupted my stream of thoughts and I realized that I was being extremely rude, staring at my surroundings like I had never seen anything like this before in my entire life. Stop gawking; I chided myself. Get a hold of yourself.

"Um . . ." I started, trying to clear the awkward air. I felt a little shy, now that were alone in a room. _His_ room. "I borrowed some Lurlene McDaniel books from the library. I also brought my laptop so we could do some research."

The topic of the English project seemed far away for some reason but I forced myself to bring it up. We were here for a reason, and that reason was to work. Drew shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant way. I couldn't have expected anything more. "Just set out whatever you need on the bed. I'm going to get something to drink. Want anything?"

I shook my head politely. "No thanks. Go ahead though."

Drew shuffled to the other door, the one that probably led inside his house and dragged it open. As he disappeared, I took a deep breath to steady myself and walked over to his bed. The springs groaned as I sat down and I ignored it as I pulled out the paperback books and my black laptop out of my school bag. I was looking up sites about the author when the door opened again and Drew leaned against the frame, a bottle of beer in his hands.

Taking a swing from the bottle, he sauntered over to the bed and set himself down. I tried not to think about how close we were—on a bed as he cocked his head to the side to see the screen of my laptop. "What are we doing exactly?"

I clicked a few buttons on my computer to force the thoughts away from my mind. "Um, we're going to be presenting about the author." I explained, never letting my eyes stray from the screen. "Mrs. Hartford said that author's lives and ideologies affect their writing so we would need to research important aspects of her life and compare it to her writing style."

Drew stared at me like I had just grown horns, before scoffing. "Okay, and what am I supposed to do?"

I bit my bottom lip, grabbing the books from the bed. "You can check these books. There's probably an author section somewhere in them. Maybe you can read the books too . . .? To get a general idea about the themes and motifs and whatnot."

It took a moment, before Drew snickered. A smirk was evident on his face as he stared at the books in my hand. "Read? You must be kidding me. Forget this—I don't even know why I even let you come here."

I started to bite harder on my lip until I felt the tangy taste of blood. I stared deep into those nonchalant and spiteful eyes before diverting my gaze to the hem of my skirt. "Look Drew." Finally, I found my voice. "I know . . . I know that you don't like me. And I guess I'm not mad at that. I can understand that, but let's just make this project work out, okay?" I looked up to his face, trying to read his expression. "We can go back to our lives and I promise I'll leave you alone after we get this finished."

Drew was silent and my heart jittered nervously. His eyes were unreadable and when our eyes caught, he looked away to push a finger back and forth against the seams of his black jeans. It was a while before he spoke, his voice sounding more sincere and less haughty. "I like you enough for you to be here."

I felt myself smiling, as the happiness seemed to surge into me. It was shocking, his words. But what was even more shocking was my reaction to it. Did that simple statement really meant that much to make me so happy? Apparently so. "T-Thanks." I managed to stutter, not really knowing what to say. "Um, if you don't want to read—you can do the research." I reached out for the books that were laid out between us but Drew pushed my hand away with a smirk.

"Don't have to spoil me so much. I can do what I have to do."

I flashed him a little smile in response and returned back to my laptop. He flopped down on his stomach right beside me and opened the first book he saw. His facial expression changed as he studied the content, squinting his eyes. "What is this? Are these _romance_ books?"

I bit my lower lip once more, turning towards him. "Some of them . . . Well, I guess most of them." I told him unwittingly. "Why?"

I saw Drew roll his eyes as he flipped through the pages. "I should be down at the skate park, skating my ass off." He grunted before scoffing. "Not reading some cheesy love stories."

I waited for him to drop the book or say something more, my heart already waiting for the disappointment. But after that complaint, he didn't say anything more as he kept the book in his hand, his emerald green eyes darting across the words. Relief filled me once more as I hid a small smile and swept a strand of hair from my face. Turning back to my laptop, I searched for something that would be interesting. A certain webpage caught my eye and I looked over the facts. What I found was going to a really nice add to our presentation; I thought to myself. I had to write it down.

"Do you have a pen?" I asked Drew. He had been beside me, reading silently for the past half an hour and of course, I hated to bother him considering the fact that it was always somewhat hard to get him to do anything. I also tried not to think about the fact that he was laying down right beside me, his nice scent drifting up my nose now and then.

He looked up and flicked his hair away from his face. "Over by the table."

I got up, heading towards the direction of the wooden table that was set up beside the full-length mirror. It was a study table, I guessed. The only book on it was a worn out textbook that read _World History_ _II _and a stash of ordinary blue ink pens. I grabbed one of them and made my way back over to the bed. Of course, being the clumsy May Maple, I failed to see a woolen sock in my way and slipped. A squeal escaped my lips before I knew it and my eyes closed shut as I braced myself for the impact.

A consequent '_oof!' _surprised me as I landed on something hard, limbs and bones colliding against each other. The familiar scent drifted up my nose and I slowly opened my eyes to see Drew's face, only a few centimeters away from mine. Breathing out, I could feel the wild hammering of my heart against its cage. The electric green eyes of his stared up at me and I felt like I was paralyzed. I felt too stunned to even move, but apparently Drew found his senses earlier than I did as his arms grabbed my waist and lifted me up away from him, setting me down on the bed. I felt my entire face go beet red.

"I-I," I stuttered as I looked down at my lap, not trusting my own voice. I didn't know what to say at all, but I felt like I had to say _something_. "I'm sorry—"

"You should look where you're going." Drew cut me off as he slowly edged himself away from me. I felt stung by the bitterness of his tone. His eyes turned icy cold as he stared straight into my face. His chest heaved as he inhaled, his pale fist clenched. "And you say you're not clumsy."

I frowned, a little bit of anger flowing into my veins. "I _said_ I was sorry, gosh." I felt dejected somehow by his sudden hostility. I shouldn't have been feeling this way—I really shouldn't. He was nothing to me and I was certain that I meant absolutely nothing to him as well. I let a sigh escape my lips, feeling the need to make things a little bit right again. "Um . . . so are you almost done with the reading?"

Drew shrugged his shoulders, still looking angry. He frowned and nodded at the same time. "Yeah."

"Which one are you reading?" I didn't know why I kept on talking when it was so clear that he didn't want to be talking to me. I guessed that I felt like if silence were to come between us—my mind would be on nothing but what had just happened earlier. I could have sworn that a flicker of emotion stirred deep inside his emerald eyes when I was so close to him . . . Something that I hadn't seen before.

"Uh . . ." He turned the book over to read the title. "'How Do I Love Thee.'"

I felt myself blush again. Drew must have realized something because he grunted, putting the book down. Rolling his emerald eyes, he scoffed. "What a stupid name."

I didn't say anything to answer him as I turned back to my laptop. I suddenly remembered the entire reason that I had gotten up to get the pen as I looked at the webpage. It seemed like such a long time ago. I lifted the blanket a little, trying to catch sight of the blue pen. Frowning, I lifted my laptop before bending down and searching the floor. Nothing. I turned to Drew who was now reading something called 'Prey'.

"Hey, have you seen the pen?"

He looked up from the book, his green eyes gleaming. "Don't tell me you lost _that_ too. I should call you klutz from now on."

I rolled my eyes at him before turning my back with a huff. "Fine. I'll look for it myself." Sometimes I just didn't understand what his problem was.

I heard him sigh as he put the book down and straightened his back. "Where did you drop it?"

I looked up at him, trying to size him up and figure out whether he was playing with me or he really was going to help me out. Drew arched one of his brows at my lack of response. "Well?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know." I answered, taken back a little. "I think I dropped it when I, um, fell."

Drew rolled his eyes, brushing his hair out of his face as he got up from the bed and searched for the pen. Finally, he lifted a pillow and there it was. "Finally." I murmured as I reached over, Drew apparently having the same thought as we both grabbed the pen at the same time. Lightning struck through me. His hand was on top of mine, the touch warm. For some reason, it might seem weird to say—but it looked just right. The proportion of his hand to mine. We seemed to fit together like a puzzle piece.

My senses came to me and I instantly pulled my hand away. I couldn't look at his face as my cheeks turned bright red. "Sorry!" I bit my lip afterwards. "I-I think I better go." It was better to go on home before I end up getting more on his nerves.

"Yeah?"

I peeked an eye up at him to see that he wasn't looking at me. He stared down at his lap. "Yeah, it's almost dark and my parents get worried. My mom also reminded me to come home before dinner, so yeah . . ." I blabbered as I bent down to close my laptop. I was just gathering up my stuff when I heard the sound of a door slamming shut and the voice of a woman shouting.

"Drew! Where are you?"

I stole a glance at Drew. His face was unreadable, but his eyes seemed to look very uncomfortable as it glazed past mine. "I'm in my room!" He responded back with a shout and a second later, the wooden door was pounded upon. I sat on the bed, almost rooted to the spot. I didn't know what was going on.

I heard Drew sigh as he walked up to the door that led to the rest of his house and opened it. A woman stood in view, partly covered by the shadow of the doorframe and Drew's form. But from what I could see—she was stunning. Her vivid green hair fell to her back in shiny, wavy tresses. She had wood brown eyes and a slender body. Lines of age seemed to mark her face, but that didn't stop her from being beautiful. Was she Drew's mom? I found myself thinking. Dawn had told me she was on drugs . . .

"What do you want Mom?" I heard Drew say, confirming my earlier thoughts. I was right, she _was _his mom. Aside from the wrinkles surrounding her eyes and the frailness of her body, she looked like she could have been a model or an actress. The lady peered through Drew's shoulder, catching a glimpse of me. Her brown eyes flashed and I quickly looked away to stare at my shoes.

"Who is she?" I heard her demand.

"Nobody." I felt a little bit rejected to be referred to as 'nobody'. I tried to remind myself that Drew probably did not want to bother with all the general introductions. "Just tell me what you want."

A little pause followed and I felt her eyes on me before she spoke again, her voice in a low hiss. "I need money."

"Mom, please—"

"No, Drew." She interrupted him and I glanced back up again to see if she was still looking at me. Her eyes were fixed on the green-haired boy instead. "People are _looking _for me. I'm in debt." Her voice was in a sharp whisper as she edged closer to him. "If I don't pay up by today, they're going to come and take everything away."

"Like there is anything left to take away." Drew answered with a scoff and his mother reached out to place her hands on both his shoulders.

"Don't do this . . ."

"I'm not doing anything!" I winced a little as Drew shouted out his frustrations. His voice was harsh, the bitterness almost clinging to every word. "_You _are the one who led us to this position. _You're _the one who's in debt with everyone on your back! _You_ made this happen, Mom! _I _didn't do anything—it's all _you!_"

"Andrew!" She hissed once more, her eyes darting out to me before they diverted back to her son. "Do you want to see me on the street, begging for my living? Do you want all my dignity down the drain? Huh? Would you like to see _that?_"

I waited to see what Drew would answer. I felt odd and out of place, eavesdropping onto their conversation like that but I couldn't just get up and leave. "That's what you chose to _be_, mother." Drew responded with a snarl. "You had a _choice_ and this is what you chose. It's none of my business."

"I need the money!" The woman seemed to have given up on reasoning with Drew as she screamed into his face, her face wild and her eyes livid. "I need it _right_ now!"

"Well that's too bad!" Drew yelled back. "I don't have anything! I don't have a fucking _dime!_ How much do you owe anyway?"

"Two hundred . . ." She whispered. "I need two hundred bucks."

"Two hundred!" Drew echoed. "Are you kidding me? How the hell am I supposed to have that kind of money?" He took a deep breath, as if trying to regain his composure. "Go ask someone else. I don't have it."

"Drew!"

"I told you, I don't _have_ the money!"

"I do."

I felt both pair of eyes turn towards me. I blinked nervously and swallowed hard. I didn't really know what I was doing. I knew that I had barely two hundred dollars in my wallet from my mom. She had given it to me a few days ago so that I could buy that dress she wanted me to wear on Saturday to her fundraising ball. The dress could wait—I found myself thinking. Right now, there was a crisis happening and I couldn't just sit back and watch when I knew that I could help somehow.

"Stay out of this." Drew commanded me but his mother pushed him aside, running into the room and dropped to her knees. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Darling!" She sobbed, obviously forgetting about how rudely she had looked at me just a few minutes ago. "I'll never forget this. If I don't give the money, they will _kill_ me."

I nodded, touching her arm softly before reaching towards my school bag and pulling out my wallet. "It's okay. You can pay me back later, right?"

"You're a true angel!" She cried and I smiled softly as I pulled out the two hundred dollar bills from the wallet. I examined the remains, a couple of coins and a bunch of ones. It was enough, I guess. I handed it over to the woman and she couldn't accept faster. "Thank you so much!" She turned towards Drew, tears still falling down her pale cheek. "She reminds me so much of . . ." She couldn't speak anymore because she was sobbing again.

Drew glared at me before turning his gaze towards his mother. "All right. You got your money, you can go pay them back now."

The lady turned to me, wiping her tears away from her grubby face and smiled. "Thank you."

I managed to smile back softly as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her with a click. I couldn't take in the feeling I got from helping for too long as Drew's sharp voice interrupted into my thoughts.

"Why the hell did you _do _that?"

I looked up, obviously confused. "Do what?"

"Don't play dumb with me." He responded and his cold green eyes were hard. "Why did you give her the money?"

"I-I . . ." I stuttered. "I just wanted to help."

"You don't know anything, May!" Drew shouted and I flinched back in recoil. His tone was harsh. "Do you know why she needs that money? Do you? She's using drugs, for hell's sake! The last thing that I need is for her to keep on using. If she pays that two hundred, she'll get more and drag me into more of her mess!"

"I-I'm sorry." I found myself saying. I felt tears prick at my eyes. Nobody had ever yelled at me with that kind of voice before. "You were fighting with her . . ."

"And this is how you avoid fights?" Drew demanded cruelly, not noticing the way my voice broke or the moisture that threatened to trickle down my eyes. "By shoving money into people's throats? I was right about you all along!"

"Drew!" I cried, not able to take it any longer. "That two hundred was for a dress that my mom wanted me to buy, okay? I could've just sat down and listened to your fight but I didn't because I cared! I don't know why I did though, seeing as you are just so insincere and _awful_!"

He sighed back in response as he sat down on the bed, running a hand through his hair. He ignored my words. "I'll pay you back, okay?"

I felt some of my anger die away just a little. "I-It's okay."

"No, I'll pay you back."

I exhaled and nodded my head. "Okay. I better get going then." I figured that it was enough meddling into Drew's life for a day. Maybe Gary was right. Maybe I wasn't strong enough to handle it. I grabbed my laptop and my school bag as I stood up swiftly. "You can keep the books, and if it's not a problem for you—you can read it. But you don't _have_ to."

Drew shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever."

I forced a polite smile on my face as I walked towards the back door where the fire-exit stairs were. "See you tomorrow then. Maybe we can continue this tomorrow at my house?"

"I'm going to lose _another _day of skating?" Drew asked incredulously and scoffed. "I've lost enough of skating with this crap."

"If we get it finished sooner then you'll get more time to skate." I reminded him and ran fingers through my hair. "Trust me, Drew. I don't enjoy this any more than you do. So let's just get this out of the way so we can go back to our real lives."

He lowered his gaze to the ground, looking like he was thinking things over. Finally, he nodded. "All right. Fine."

I smiled back in response as I gathered my things and pushed the wooden door. It didn't budge. I repeated the action, applying a little bit more force but it didn't seem like it moved at all. I heard Drew sigh out as he got up and walked to the door. "Klutz." He murmured as he grasped the wooden door and pulled it. It dragged open with a screech.

I rolled my eyes in response, walking out of the door and into the autumn air. The sky was slightly dark and it was definitely passed five but not late enough to be six thirty yet. I hadn't missed dinner.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I called out, just in case as I reached the landing and prepared to walk down the stairs.

"Yeah."

"Okay." I was assured as I turned around. "Bye."

I heard Drew grunt back in response as the wooden door shut close. Shivering a little as the breeze picked up and played with my hair, I walked down the clammy stairs to my car that was waiting downstairs.

Today was certainly one interesting day.

* * *

_-Suzie x _


	3. Flashbacks

Author's Note: Thanks for all of the feedback, you guys. Concerning that promise that I made in the first chapter, I'd just like to say yes—it's true. This story is definitely not going to be your average cliché high school story and there is a lot more to come. Don't judge a story from reading barely anything of it.

Aside from this, enjoy! I know that I've gone through a pretty long hiatus but hey, I'm a college freshman now and that means WORK :(

* * *

**When . it . Rains**

_(c) SuzieQuakes, 2012_

* * *

_"You made yourself a bed at the bottom of the blackest hole . . . And convinced yourself that it's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore."  
_

* * *

three.

* * *

**Drew's Perspective.**

I fell back onto my bed after she left. My thoughts drifted everywhere, stirring around my brain like a brewing tornado and as much as I tried to push them away, they stayed. _Her blushing face . . . Her voice . . . Her big, cerulean eyes that intimidated and caught me by surprise every time she looked at me. _

I stood up straight, shaking my head roughly. Damn. My thoughts have gone _way _too far. Get a grip, Drew. Regain your freaking composure.

After all . . . I couldn't be thinking about her. She was just a girl, and girls usually meant one thing: trouble. Not to mention it had been such a long time since I had ever spent any time at all thinking about one, let alone giving space to them in my life. I just couldn't let myself do that after . . .

After my sister died.

Her name was Angie—my sister. A year younger than me, the heart, soul and pride of my parents—she was always the better sibling. She was kinder, more talented and a better person than I ever was. I guess I had to admit, I always had been just a _little_ jealous of her. She was just . . . _perfection_. If there was anybody considered 'perfect' in the world, she would take the prize. She always gave one hundred percent towards everything she did and our parents' relationship was no different.

She was the one who had first found out about my father's affair . . .

She was the one who had tried _so_ hard to make everything work out between them.

However, you know the cliche—you've read the books, seen the movies. A relationship is intricate . . . delicate. Once it had been destroyed, it was like broken pieces of a mirror. No matter how much you try putting the pieces back together, it just wouldn't work because it was already broken. It would never reflect the perfect image, ever again. That was what our parents' relationship was like. Broken and never to be perfect again.

The day my father packed up his things and walked out of the house, I guess she just broke down. It was like everything that she had ever worked for—everything that she hoped for had been destroyed.

All down the drain.

The worse thing was—I never showed that I cared. Of course I knew about the problems. I knew that every single day, Angie was trying her best to comfort Mom who had lost her way into the darkness of drugs—every single day she was trying to contact my father and convince him to come home. She was the one that tried so hard to make everything okay again and all I ever wanted to do was find a way out of the misery at home. I had only done what I had always been best at: being selfish. I spent all my time skating, messing around with girls, experimenting with alcohol . . . I wasn't even home most of the time.

I ignored _everything_. I ignored Angie.

I didn't think I could ever forgive myself for doing that.

Sometimes I wondered why she did it. As much as I wanted to get out of the misery, I could've never done what she did. I couldn't imagine the thoughts that went through her head, what sort of terrible things that she was feeling and how much of those thoughts were created because of _me_. I wondered what sort of emotions swirled in her heart when she grabbed that razor and pressed the cool blade to her wrist. Sometimes I imagined myself getting home right at that time. To be there and grab the blade away, telling her that what she was doing was wrong. She couldn't just run away from life like that.

Yet I wasn't there, and that was the sickening thought that haunted me. The memories only came in distorted fragments now. I had tried so hard to make them go away, to forget.

Stumbling back home in the morning . . . She was there, lying on the kitchen floor . . . Blood. So much blood . . .

I remembered staring for a full minute, stunned. I remembered thinking that it was too peaceful to be a suicide scene. I remembered her soft, black curls surrounding her pretty oval face . . . It was so tranquil. Like she had found peace, somewhere far away.

With a jolt, I suddenly felt the guilt pile upon my shoulders. If I had given one single thought for Angie and been there for her, she wouldn't have suffered from such a terrible fate.

I guess that was when I stopped seeing girls. That was when I cut off all communications with everybody other than my close circle of friends. I just couldn't let anybody in anymore . . . and I didn't want to. It was a dedication for my sister because she lost everything because of me. But this girl . . .

May reminded me so much of Angie that it hurt every time I see her eyes gleam. They shared the same smile, the same look of adventure and a slight tinge of mischief in their eyes, the same positive outlook.

It was everything that I didn't have.

My head fell into my waiting palms and I sighed. I didn't know what was happening to me. It had been two years ever since Angie had died and ever since then I had tried my very best to stay cold, to stay detached from everybody because I just couldn't handle it. Now, suddenly I was breaking my own rules?

I shook my head roughly, forcing the thoughts out. I didn't want to think about it. May was a girl, just like the million other of their kind out there. There was nothing special about her and I was just stupid for thinking that she was similar to Angie. She wasn't. She couldn't even come close. I repeated the bitter thoughts to myself over and over again until I suddenly felt like my old self again. May was nobody. She was nothing at all.

A buzzing interrupted my stream of thoughts and I quickly dug out my cellphone from the pocket of my jeans, pressing it to my ear without looking at the ID. I was just grateful for the interruption from my own thoughts.

"Yo! It's Ash."

I let out a caged breath, immediately feeling like my life was resuming back to its normality. Ash Ketchum was my best friend, although we had originally started out hating each other's guts.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"So are you done being an English geek?" He laughed into the phone, sounding cheerful. He was always a happy, goofy person. "Misty just called and she said she already gathered up Jimmy and Cain. We're gonna go skate!"

I shrugged my shoulders before realizing that Ash couldn't see me. "It's almost dark, man."

"Yeah, so?" Ash answered back haughtily. "We've done it before."

I ignored his remark and thought to myself. I definitely missed skating, that was for sure. Even one day without it was enough to make me miss the feeling, the rush of adrenaline as I whizzed on the slopes. It was against the law to be in the park after dark but I wasn't the type of guy to be scared about being arrested. "Sure," I finally said. "I'll be at the park in ten."

"Cool, bro!" I felt his smile on the other end. "See you then!"

I clicked the phone off and tossed it back onto my bed. I then pulled my t-shirt off, dropping it on the floor as I walked out of my room and into the small bathroom that accompanied this old apartment in downtown Petalburg. We weren't always this badly-off. Somewhere in the past, forever gone in time—Angie, my mother and father used to live in a nice place in La Rousse City. We moved to Petalburg after his job got transferred . . . before my father met and started to have an affair with this uptown girl working in his same office.

Eventually he told my mother. He said he couldn't stand to live with her anymore, couldn't stand to be around us. After the divorce was settled, he gave my mother enough to rent a crappy apartment and "supported" us with a paycheck every month. Some father.

The checks arrived from an address on Cherry Road . . . _That_ Cherry Road that I had driven May to, the other day. Apparently my father was living there with his new wife.

I never heard from my father since that day and I didn't intend to either. He wasn't ever a father to me and I didn't consider him to be a part of my family. He was nothing to me.

I turned the shower on and stood under it as the water ran through my hair, dripping down my body. It was icy and cold but I was used to it. We hadn't had hot water in a long, _long_ time. I wrapped a towel around my torso after a short ten seconds and twisted the tap so that the water stopped. I didn't want it to run out.

I walked out of the bathroom, grabbing my crumpled old clothes and into my own room. The warm air greeted my cold body and I shook my head slightly. It was way too warm and welcoming for my usual. I walked to the window and opened the rusty old thing. The cold autumn air drifted in.

Dressing myself, I stepped into my old Converse shoes and grabbing my skateboard and keys, stepped out of my room. Maybe skating was going to take my thoughts away from things that I didn't need.

* * *

"So how was English with Little Miss Awkward?"

I turned away from watching my friend, Cain Wilson skate and into curious sea-green eyes of Misty Waterflower. She arched her brow as the night wind played with her red choppy hair. My friends had taken the liberty to nickname May, as they do with everyone we know. I shrugged my shoulders. "It was bullshit," I told her. "Give me skating any day."

She cracked a smile. "Your eyes state otherwise."

"What do you mean?"

"She means that you look dazed," Jimmy Kento added in. He was sitting beside us on the park bench as Cain and Ash took their turn on the skate slopes. Sweeping his brown hair to the side, he looked at me directly with his navy blue eyes. "What's up, man? What happened?"

I rolled my eyes at him, even though I felt slightly uncomfortable inside. "I do not look dazed and nothing happened."

Misty looked at me carefully, her sea-green eyes studying my facial expressions. "You sure about that?"

"What is wrong with you two?" I said with a frown, although I guess I have to give my friends credit for knowing me so well. However, I couldn't tell them about what I was feeling at the moment. It was just unlike me and they would laugh in my face. "Nothing freaking happened."

"Oh sure, like we're going to buy that, Hayden." Jimmy said sarcastically. By now both Cain and Ash were coming back from the slopes, their skateboards clutched under their hands. Ash peered in from the shoulders of Jimmy and Misty, his face red and puffing.

"Yo! Did you see that last kick-flip I did? That was freaking sick!"

"Yeah man!" Cain exclaimed before realizing everybody's expressions. He finally seemed to nice something was going on. "Hey. What's wrong?"

I sighed loudly, letting my exasperations be known. "Waterflower and Kento are just being idiots." I grabbed my skateboard, standing up. "Now it's my turn to skate."

"Hold up." Ash blocked my way, his usually dopey grin dropping off his face. "What's with him, Mist?"

I could feel myself rolling my eyes again. Ash had a crush on Misty as big as the Grand Canyon and everyone knew except her. She threw back her short hair over her ears and shrugged. "Hayden's getting it on with English Girl."

"I never said that!" The dumb protest left my lips before I even had a chance to think. I didn't even know why I was getting so flustered over this little thing.

"Why do you sound like you're on denial?" Ash questioned, giving me a strange look. "Dude, I thought you didn't have a thing for girls."

"What are you saying, Ash?" I demanded. I didn't know why I felt so mad but I almost felt like I was going to explode. "That I have a thing for dudes?"

"No, no." He tried to shake off my words with a frantic wave of his hands. "You've been done with chasing girls since . . . Well, since a long time ago."

Then it was like something inside of me snapped. "Why can't you say it?!" I roared. I almost felt like reaching out and punching my best friend and I didn't even know why or what was triggering me.

"Say what?" Ash looked at me strangely and my friends were all looking at me with the same kind of glint in their eyes. As if they couldn't understand me, couldn't understand why I was lashing out like that. Frankly, I didn't even understand it myself.

"Say what you were thinking!" I exclaimed. I felt like shaking him. My head throbbed as the extra blood flowed. "You didn't say it! You _couldn't_ say that I've been out since _Angie _killed herself!"

"Yo, calm down." Misty tried to tell me. "What's wrong with you, man?"

I didn't answer her as I grabbed my skateboard and without another word, I walked out of the dimmed park. I didn't bring my car because I skated to the park but right then I didn't feel like skating at all. I just felt like getting away . . . getting away from everything. My heart was tightened up and I didn't even know why.

The wind was chilly and the dark clouds that were gathering all day were starting to rumble as I walked up the hill. Damn it. It was going to rain. That was just the thing I needed right now. The rain soaked me through but I clenched my fist and continued walking up that hill. When I reached the crossroad where I would turn right to reach my apartment—I turned left. Lightning stroke and I continued on until I reached a sign that pointed towards a brightly lit road. It must've been a few miles distance but somehow I got there so fast . . .

I gazed at the houses, all lined up with their perfect green lawns and garden statues that were probably worth more than everything that I had combined.

My steps became slower as I approached house number one-forty-one. I stood in front of the white-picketed fence in the rain and looked at the house. The light was on and the white blinds were open. I didn't want to be spotted but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the scene. It was so homely in there . . . so warm.

_Flash_

Lightning zigzagged passed the dark night and before anybody spotted me, I quickly darted behind the blue mailbox. The rain thundered over me and I felt my clothes stick to my skin. I sighed as I leaned against the cool metal box. Just when I was taking a cigarette out of my pocket to calm my nerves, something flashed into my head.

"_Drew, please, stop!" _

"_Why?" I grumbled as I took a deep breath of smoke. "I do what I want, Angie. You can't control me." _

_"__No," she whispered. "I can't control you. But you can control yourself. Don't smoke anymore. It's bad for your—"_

"_What?" I cut her off. "It's bad for my health? I don't fucking care. It's better to die than to live this asshole of a life." _

_She sighed and turned around, so that her back faced me. "Maybe you're right . . ." _

A startled cry escaped my lips as the cigarette fell from my lips. I stared at the little white stick of tobacco, wet with the rain and dirty with mud.

If May really was Angie . . . somehow, in another life—I was happy that she finally found somewhere where she could be free from life's troubles.

* * *

Author's Note: Damn, I worked really hard on this. Just for some of you who might be confused, Drew is currently battling with his conflicting emotions of letting somebody into his life. He's confused with the idea of May and Angie and confuses the two, thus believing that somehow May really is Angie. It's just character development.

Anyhow, review:) Would love to hear your thoughts!

_-Suzie x_


	4. Opening Up

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'd just like to start off by saying that I hope you all had a wonderful winter break. Gee, I can't believe that it's already 2013!

Aside from this, I'd like to thank you for your reviews. More reviews mean more motivation to update :)

Enjoy this chapter!

Oh and you might probably be wondering why I made Max the OLDER brother instead of the younger one. I just thought the story would flow better that way :) It _is_ an AU after all.

* * *

**When . it. Rains **

_(c) SuzieQuaKes, 2013 _

* * *

_Recap: _

_If May really was Angie . . . somehow, in another life—I was happy that she finally found somewhere where should be free from life's troubles. _

* * *

_Take these chances to turn it around, take these chances—we'll make it somehow. _

* * *

**May's Perspective.**

I swear I had seen him. I would have recognized those piercing green eyes anywhere. There was just one thing I couldn't figure out. What was he doing here? Especially in the dark, in the rain, at a time like that? Of course, he couldn't have come to see me. Why would he? It just didn't make any sense.

I frowned as I tossed and turned in my bed, trying to find sleep. Why was he always on my mind? He was so arrogant . . . so mean. Yet, there was something about him that just made me think of him all the time. Literally. Ever since I had come back from his house, I found myself unable to think of anybody else. Finally, I sighed. He couldn't have come all this way to see me. He _did_ say he knew someone who lived around here.

But if that was so, why was he standing in front of _my _house?

Questions, questions. Maybe I was just imagining things. Everything that had happened at his place was enough to keep my mind whirling and leave me tensed. Yes. I had probably just imagined him.

Finally deciding that it was my mind that was playing tricks on me, I closed my eyes and let the darkness and the patter of rain engulf me into a smooth, deep slumber.

I woke up early the next day. The sun was streaming through the window and I smiled as the rays fell on my face. It was a rare sight to see in late autumn. Stretching a little, I hopped out of bed and sauntered into the bathroom.

Maybe it was going to be a good day.

"_Shoot!"_ I hissed as I was pulling my slightly wet hair into a bun. I had just finished dressing up for the day after taking a quick shower, before I remembered something. I had completely forgotten about him. _Drew_. Drew was coming to my house after school . . .

I grabbed my school bag and ran down the stairs. So much for it being a good day, huh? "Mom! Mom!" I called as I stumbled down, taking care not to trip on my own two feet. My Dad—apparently not yet going to work—was sitting at the dinner table, stirring his coffee. He gave me a quizzical look, probably wondering why I was screaming like a madman was chasing me with a machete.

My mother ran out from the kitchen, her auburn hair in disarray and a spatula in one hand. A creamy mixture of something that looked like flour dripped to the floor as I winced. Dad wasn't going to like the white dots staining the carpet. "What is it?! What's wrong?"

"Um . . ." I nervously laughed and rubbed my arm slowly. "I just wanted to tell you that someone is coming over after school to work on an English project." I bit my lip as I grabbed my keys from the counter. "Sorry if I startled you."

Mom breathed out a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes a little. She planted one hand on her hip. "Gosh, May. You scared the daylights out of me! You don't usually ask permission when you bring your friends over." Then she noticed the dripping spatula and frowned as she started to walk back into the kitchen. "Great. Now I have to clean this up before your father throws a fit."

Luckily for her, Dad was seated at the dining table and didn't notice the mess that Mom had made. I sauntered over to him, grabbing a muffin and taking a quick bite. "Well, he's not someone that usually comes over." I told her hesitantly.

"Who is he then?" My father added into the conversation, sipping his creamy coffee. He glared at me with his dark eyes. "Your _boyfriend_?"

"Dad! No!" I cried out but my cheeks had a mind of their own as they started to flush at the idea. My Dad had the tendency to think _every_ guy was my boyfriend. "He's _just _my partner for a project."

"He better be!"

I sighed in exasperation at him before glancing up at the wall clock. My eyes widened as I dropped the muffin and stood up abruptly. "I better go or I'm going to be late!" Grabbing my bag, I ran over to the door. "Bye Mom! See you later, Dad."

Without waiting for a response, I walked out of the house and to my car that was parked outside. Just before I could open the door, I heard someone call out my name. I turned around to face a grinning face standing beside a red sports car. I sighed and just about groaned out loud. Just what I needed to see to start my day. Gary.

"Hey May." He smiled charmingly at me. His light brown hair was spiked up as usual and his brown eyes twinkled. He inserted a hand in his denim jeans and walked over to me in a casual manner. "Thought you might want a ride."

I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest. "In case you forgot, I have my own car."

He smirked at me. "Touché."

I curled my upper lip in mock amusement. "Gary, what do you want? We're going to be late for class, you know."

"It's Wednesday." He told me, matter-of-factly. "You have study hall first period." I didn't want to admit it, but I had completely forgotten that it was a Wednesday. Instead, I just pouted in response.

Gary smiled back at me and not a word escaped his lips as he walked closer and closer to me until his body pushed me back into my car. His face was merely centimeters away from mine. I winced slightly as the musky smell of his aftershave drifted up my nose.

"_What _in the world are you doing?"

He still didn't say anything as he mused with a stray strand of hair that was falling across my forehead. His brown eyes stared into my own, yet I found myself thinking of _Drew_. Drew's deep emerald eyes that sparkled and left me feeling so speechless every single time. How was it possible that he kept filling up my mind after everything that happened the day before?

"You know that I like you, May." Gary said and I returned back to reality. His breath blew against my face and it smelt minty—like mouthwash. I scrunched up my face and blinked.

"Gary, get off!" I pushed him slightly back away from me and he laughed as he stumbled back.

"If you insist."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You are such a _perv_!" I then turned my back on him. "I'm going to school. Goodbye, Oak."

He grabbed my hand and smiled at me. "All right, all right. Just let me take you to school." Before I could protest, he took my bag from my hands and started walking towards his parked sports car. _God_. He was so annoying.

I planted my hands of my hips, refusing to move. "Why can't I just drive myself?!"

"Because it's pointless since I'm already here." He answered as he tossed my bag into the passenger seat. He turned back to me with a grin. "Now are you going to get here yourself, or should I grab you and throw you in like I did with your bag?"

I frowned and thought of protesting but I knew that it wasn't going to come to any good. He was actually capable of carrying out his threat. Worse, my Dad was going to come out soon to go to work and I couldn't afford for him to see me like that with Gary. Finally I sighed, trudging over slowly to the car. "Fine. But only because you're being a pain in the behind!"

Gary just laughed back in response.

Soon, we were cruising along the streets of Petalburg, although I wasn't exactly in my best mood. I made sure not to say a word as I crossed my arms over my chest and stared out of the window. His car was just so damn shiny. It felt like I was going to ruin it with my fingerprints if I just touched it.

"Are you free tonight?" Gary broke the silence as we approached the gates of Petalburg High School.

I shifted in my seat. I didn't feel like speaking to him, but I knew I had to. "Why?"

"Because I want to know." He gave me a half-smile, glancing at me. "Come on, May. You are, right?"

We entered the school campus and I could see the crowds already thinning out. We were already pretty late, thanks to Gary. "No, I'm not." I finally answered his question. "I need to work on the English project."

The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes as he pulled into an available parking space. "Just a night out won't do your grades any harm."

"I don't want to go out with you, Gary."

He sighed as he turned off the engine and turned towards me with a serious expression on his face. "I just want to take you out for a night—you know, maybe change how you think of me." He looked deep into my eyes. "Everyone deserves a chance, May."

It was my turn to sigh. I just wanted to get out of the car, _fast_. Arguing with Gary never came to any good, so I had to give in. "Okay, fine. But not tonight. Maybe tomorrow . . ."

"Really?"

I pressed my lips together. Maybe he was right. He _was_ my friend since we were little and it seemed like he really liked me—although he could be a total asshole. "That's on one condition. You have to stop coming to my place in the mornings and making a scene in front of my house. I don't want my parents to think things."

Gary smiled at me. "You got it, princess."

I stuck my tongue out at him as I opened the car door. "Whatever." Grabbing my bag, I hurried into the school building.

* * *

"_Oh my God. _Just, oh my _God_."

I sighed and shrugged as I chewed on my sandwich. It was lunchtime and I had just finished telling my friends about what happened at Drew's house. "Just don't tell Gary, all right?"

Marina shook her head as her blue side-ponytail smacked against her face. "I don't believe it. I mean—_what_ are you doing, May? It's Drew Hayden. _Drew Hayden_. He is not somebody that you want to be friends with!"

I sipped on my water nervously. "He's not that bad . . ." I didn't feel comfortable talking about Drew to my friends. I loved my friends, I really did. But they had the tendency to judge when Drew was concerned and I just didn't like that. "Oh and guess who came over this morning to crush even the slightest hopes of today being a good day."

Dawn smiled as she whipped her blue hair out of her face. "Do you know how many girls are _dying_ for Gary?"

"Yeah, and do you know how much he pesters _me_?" I took another bite out of my sandwich. It was the first time that my friends and I could talk about Gary in peace, seeing that he was away for football practice. "He came over and gave me a ride and guess what he said on the way?"

Marina crossed her arms over the table and looked at me with a knowing smile. "He asked you out?"

"I wish I could disagree." I sighed.

Dawn laughed as she sipped at her soda with a straw. "Your answer was the same as always? The big fat 'no'?"

I hesitantly played with the plastic wrapping of my sandwich. "Actually . . . I agreed."

Both Marina and Dawn turned to look at me with wide eyes and open mouths, just as I expected. They knew that Gary had been pursuing me to no end for a while now, but I guessed they never thought I would actually accept. Frankly, I didn't either. "No way!" Dawn exclaimed. "I thought you didn't like him!"

"I don't!" I protested, although it sounded pretty stupid. "I just accepted on the condition that he stopped coming to my house every morning. He keeps making such a scene! I can't afford my parents or anybody else seeing me like that with him."

Marina pushed up her lip thoughtfully as her fingers fumbled together. "Don't you think you're leading him on, May? If you don't like him, why don't you just tell him that?"

"He wouldn't let me." I tried to tell her. "That's the problem. He said he deserves a chance."

"So you're going to go out with him." Dawn smirked at me.

"Just once!"

My friends just laughed. "Guys sure like the chase."

I shrugged my shoulders and stared down at the table. I could only hope things turned out for the better . . .

"I'll get you your money tomorrow."

That was the first thing that Drew said, the moment he saw me. School had just ended and everybody was rushing to their lockers and out of the gates. It was just Wednesday, and I guess everybody wanted to get the week over it. Drew had been waiting for me by my locker before I got out of class and stood by me as I gathered my books.

Despite the incidents that had occurred the other day, and how dejected he made me feel—I couldn't stay _mad_ at him. Especially since he was wearing a light blue-checkered shirt and jeans today, which made him look extra cute. I shook my head slightly. What was I even thinking?

I tried to ignore the way my hands were already icy cold in nervousness, just by the fact that he was standing near me. I turned around and his eyes bore through me. "It's all right." I tried to smile. "I mean—my mother wasn't too upset about it. She bought the dress already anyway."

"It's a lot of money and I don't want to owe you." He then smirked at me. "I'll get it tomorrow."

I grabbed two History books that I had borrowed from the library earlier on and placed them in my bag. I then slammed my locker shut. "Okay then . . . Let's get going—"

"May! Wait up!"

I sighed and closed my eyes slightly, trying to regain my composure. Couldn't this day be over already? "On second thought, we may have to stall a minute . . ." I curtly said and turned to face the one who called my name. A figure with spiky hair greeted me. Just what I was expecting.

Gary flashed a curious look at Drew before looking at me carefully. It was as if he figured something was going on between Drew and I and he didn't like it. His eyes flashed. "Thought _I_ was taking you home."

"I never meant to give off that vibe." I said flatly and crossed my arms over my chest. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Drew arch his eyebrow.

Gary scrunched his face in confusion, his eyes still darting to Drew every once in a while. "Well I got you here. What else do you expect me to think? That you'd walk home?" His eyes hardened as he looked at Drew again. "What are you doing with _this_ guy?"

"Watch what you're saying, Pretty Boy." Drew spoke up with a glare. He flicked his hair away with an unpleasant expression on his face.

Great. Now they were going to get into a fight if I didn't do something to stop it. Gary was just so annoying sometimes—giving me the six degrees of aggravation. Couldn't he just get the memo and leave me alone—for once? "Gary, I'm going home on my own, okay?" I tried to tell him as nicely as I could. "I _told_ you—I have to work on my English project. Now, if you'll excuse me . . ."

Without another word, I grabbed Drew's hand and pulled as we walked away from the brown haired boy. Drew stumbled a little from the sudden pull but he followed me regardless. Gary stood in his spot, scratching his head in confusion as we left him behind.

Drew didn't say a word as he followed me where I dragged him. Finally, we reached the entrance of school and I let go of his wrist. I tried not to think of the fact that I held his hand. "S-Sorry about that." I stuttered. "Gary can be annoying sometimes."

He rolled his emerald eyes and flicked his hair. He adjusted his black backpack on his shoulder. "Tell your boyfriend to watch the way he talks."

"He is _not_ my boyfriend." I said flatly as we started to make our way out of the gates of Petalburg High. People were scattering, with some going home and some heading to their various after school activities. "Anyway, he forced me to ride with him this morning so I don't have my car with me."

Drew smirked from beside me. "I know you're just _dying_ to ride with me, but I skated to school. Misty said she forgot her board, so I gave it to her. I'm without a ride too."

I pushed up my lower lip. "I am _not_ dying to ride with you, just for your information!"

The green-haired boy smirked at me even more. "Right. Whatever you say." He then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we can always walk."

I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest. "Don't think I'm too thrilled to be walking home with _you_."

"Not like I am."

"Whatever."

We continued to walk, nonetheless, through the path that led up to the main road. My house was about a five-minute car ride but walking took longer, obviously. People from school gave us funny looks, but I kept my head low on the ground, focusing on where I was going. I didn't look at Drew but I guessed he was doing the same thing too.

Finally we reached the main street and I decided that it was a good time to break the ice. I felt kind of awkward to be walking beside him without saying a word. It was true he was an arrogant prick when he _did_ talk—but it was better than nothing, right? "How is your Mom?" I knew it was a terrible thing to ask, but I could think of nothing else.

Drew shrugged his shoulders as he buried his hands deep into the pocket of his black jeans. "She didn't come home last night. But that's not some big shocker." His face turned cold. "I don't think you'd understand—with _your_ happy family."

I was a bit taken aback from his harshness. Sometimes I really felt like he was bipolar or something, with his sudden attacks towards my family and I. I ignored it though, as I readjusted my backpack. "Don't say that. Everybody has problems, Drew."

"Yeah, well life doesn't get as bad as mine." He brushed back his green hair that fell into his eyes. "Somehow I've grown used to it over the years."

I tried to smile brightly at him. "You still have a lot ahead of you." I couldn't believe that I was actually _encouraging_ Drew, but he looked really down and forlorn that I felt like I had the duty to say something to make him feel better. "Life's like a big journey, you know? It always turns out okay in the end, and if it's not happy—it's not the end!"

Drew stared at me for a moment with a strange look in his eye. We were still walking but his eyes were so fixated on mine that I started to feel weird. Did I say something wrong? I arched a brow at him. "What?"

He stared at me a moment longer before shaking his head slightly. His usual smirk came onto his face again, but I somehow felt that it was forced. "Which book did you get _that_ from?"

I rolled my eyes at him—the worry I felt for him suddenly washing away. Seriously, I couldn't win with this guy. How was it possible that someone like _him_ was always filling up my mind whenever he wasn't there? "Whatever. I was just telling you to not give up hope."

Drew just flicked his hair and said nothing more. All throughout the five minutes left of walking home, he was silent. It was as if he was lost in thought again but I didn't let that bother me. It was none of my business, right? We soon arrived at my house—the white two-story building was a relieving sight. It felt like the walk had taken forever.

I had my keys inside the pocket of my skirt but I decided to knock on the door anyway. A second later, it opened and my mother stood in front of us with a welcoming smile. She had on her cotton black dress and tan stockings.

"Hello dears." She chirped happily as she led us into the house. Our house was pretty big for four people—three now that Max was away at college. We followed Mom as she walked passed the sitting room and into the dining room. The dining table would fit just fine for us to do our work. As Drew and I placed our bags down on the floor, Mom smiled at us again.

"I'm May's mom." She told Drew and pushed her auburn hair back over her shoulder. "What's your name, dear?"

"Drew. Drew Hayden." The green-haired boy answered in response. He tried to give Mom a polite smile back in return. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding or anything. I'm sure May hadn't told you I was coming over—dense as she is." He turned back to smirk at me.

"Hey!" I cried in protest. "As a matter of fact, I told her this morning, thank you very much."

Mom laughed at our bicker. "You're not intruding at all, Drew. You two work in peace. I'll come back later with some snacks."

She left the room, leaving Drew and I alone. Drew had sat himself down on a chair and looked around the room. "Well, Little Miss Klutz. What a house you got here."

I frowned at him as I sat down and began to get my books out. "Don't call me that. I'm not a little klutz."

He smirked at me, his green eyes twinkling in amusement. "Okay then, you can be Miss Clumsy."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I am not clumsy either!" Then I stuck my tongue out at him. "You are the world's biggest annoying person! Mister Pain-in-the-Behind!"

He rolled his eyes at me and shook his head slightly. "That is so lame, May." Then he smirked at me again. "I can't be nearly as irritating as you are."

"Oh trust me, you are so much more!"

Just before Drew could say anything in return, Mom came in with a plate of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and a jar of lemonade with two glasses. She smiled as she set the snacks down on the table but didn't say a word. She left us in a short minute.

"Can I use the bathroom?" Drew asked once Mom left the room.

"It's just right over by the sitting room." I told him as I took a cookie and bit into it happily. Yum. I had always loved it when Mom baked. "Do you need me to show you?"

Drew flicked his hair from his face. "I'm not three, May. I don't need someone to guide me to the potty."

"Fine then." I sighed, ignoring his comment. I finished off my cookie and shooed him off. Drew smirked at me before getting up and leaving the dining room.

A flash of black slipped to the floor and I raised a brow as I looked under the table to see a wallet. Drew had probably dropped it as he got up. I was about to call out to him but he had already left the room and was out of sight. Curiosity struck me and despite how I knew it was extremely rude to be prying into somebody else's wallet, I opened it. There were two dollars inside, with a couple of coins—but that wasn't what caught my eye.

What caught my eye was a picture. It was worn out and faded but the faces were still recognizable. A girl was sitting on a bench. A younger looking Drew was beside her as he had his hand on her shoulder, giving a smirk-smile. The girl was laughing as she held up her hands in a peace sign. She had rolls of soft looking black hair that fell to her back and intense green eyes—the same as Drew's. Her features reminded me so much of Drew's mother . . .

. . . His sister. _That_ was his sister that had killed herself. I recognized the face, having seen her in school a couple of times before she died. A feeling of remorse entered my heart as I gently closed the wallet and placed it on the desk. I shouldn't be digging up his past—but I couldn't stop the feeling of sorrow that filled me.

Drew came back into the room a moment later and I pretended to be engrossed in reading over my English notes. He sat himself down beside me.

"You dropped your wallet." I told him, not looking up from my notebook, although my mind was filled with nothing but what I had just seen.

"Oh." Drew reached out to grab the folded leather and shoved into his back pocket. "Thanks, I guess."

I sighed as I dropped the book and looked into his eyes. I knew what I was about to do and I really hated myself for it—but I couldn't help it. "What was her name?"

A confused look crossed Drew's features before he pieced two and two together. Afterwards, coldness flashed through his green eyes as they hardened. "Who?" He asked in a voice that stated that he knew exactly whom I was talking about.

"Your . . . sister." I answered and dropped my gaze to the ground, not wanting to see his expression.

There was a moment of silence before he answered my question in a strangled sounding voice. "Her name was Angie." He finally said, before scoffing. "She slit her wrists and killed herself. I guess everybody's interested in a gory suicide."

A pang sliced through my heart like someone had just slapped me across the face. His green eyes remained distant, far off and full of bitterness. The amusement was no longer there; his smirk was no longer present. It was like he wasn't himself anymore, as he looked right through me. "I-I wasn't prying." I tried to tell him. "Really . . . I-I'm sorry. I was just curious. I'm sorry, Drew. I really am."

Drew looked at me with his piercing eyes. It softened a little as he stared into my eyes. "I just don't like to talk about her." He said quietly, the words almost whispered. "Because of me, she's gone. Because of my _father_—she's gone. I'll never forgive both of us."

I sighed as I looked at him, suddenly seeing him for what he was: just a boy broken so many times by those he loved. He didn't deserve that kind of pain—nobody did. "I'm sure Angie wouldn't have wanted you to hold a grudge against yourself or anyone else." I tried to tell him. "She probably had her reasons for . . . for doing what she did—but that doesn't mean that you should hold yourself responsible. She wouldn't want that."

"How would you know what she would or wouldn't want?" Drew demanded hotly.

"Because I could tell that she loved you." I replied softly. "How do you think she would feel, in a better place, with you blaming yourself and your father for what happened to her? She wouldn't want that, Drew."

Drew stared at me. His green eyes shined, livid with emotions for the first time. "You didn't even know Angie . . ."

I smiled back at him. "It doesn't matter, does it?"

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading you guys! Gosh, I can't believe that this is only the fourth chapter. There's SO much more to come . . . so much plot left. I can't wait, eep!

Anyway, review review review away! :)

-_Suzie x_


End file.
